Work, Energy, and

Power
AP Physics C

There are many different TYPES

of Energy.

Energy is expressed
in JOULES (J)
4.19 J = 1 calorie
Energy can be
expressed more
specifically by using
the term WORK(W)
Work = The Scalar Dot Product between Force and Displacement.
So that means if you apply a force on an object and it covers a
displacement you have supplied ENERGY or done WORK on that
object.

Scalar Dot Product?

W F r Fr cos

r displacement vector

A product is obviously a result of A dot product is basically a CONSTRAINT

multiplying 2 numbers. A scalaron the formula. In this case it means that
is a quantity with NO
F and x MUST be parallel. To ensure that
DIRECTION. So basically
they are parallel we add the cosine on the
Work is found by multiplying end.
the Force times the
displacement and result is
ENERGY, which has no
direction associated with it.
W = Fx
Area = Base x Height

Work

The VERTICAL component of the force DOES NOT

cause the block to move the right. The energy imparted to
the box is evident by its motion to the right. Therefore
ONLY the HORIZONTAL COMPONENT of the force
actually creates energy or WORK.
When the FORCE and DISPLACEMENT are in the SAME
DIRECTION you get a POSITIVE WORK VALUE. The
ANGLE between the force and displacement is ZERO
degrees. What happens when you put this in for the
COSINE?
When the FORCE and DISPLACEMENT are in the
OPPOSITE direction, yet still on the same axis, you get a
NEGATIVE WORK VALUE. This negative doesn't mean
the direction!!!! IT simply means that the force and
displacement oppose each other. The ANGLE between the
force and displacement in this case is 180 degrees. What
happens when you put this in for the COSINE?
When the FORCE and DISPLACEMENT are
PERPENDICULAR, you get NO WORK!!! The ANGLE
between the force and displacement in this case is 90
degrees. What happens when you put this in for the
COSINE?

Example

W F r
W F r cos

W F r
W F r cos
W 25 16 cos 30
W 346.4 Nm
W 346.4 J

A box of mass m = 2.0 kg is moving over a

frictional floor ( uk = 0.3) has a force whose
magnitude is F = 25 N applied to it at an
angle of 30 degrees, as shown to the left.
The box is observed to move 16 meters in
the horizontal direction before falling off the
table.
a) How much work does F do before taking
the plunge?

Example cont
What if we had done this in UNIT VECTOR notation?

F 21.65i 12.5 j
W ( Fx rx ) ( Fy ry )
W (21.65 16) (12.5 0)
W 346.4 Nm
W 346.4 J

How much work does the

Example cont
FORCE NORMAL do and
Why?

Fn

W F r
W F r cos

There is NO WORK since

F and r are perpendicular.

W FN 16 cos 90
Ff

W 0J
How much work does the frictional force do?

Note: This negative does not

specify a direction in this case
since WORK is a SCALAR. It
simply means that the force is
involved in slowing the object
down.

W Ff r
W F f r cos
W FN r cos
W (mg F cos ) r cos
W 0.3(2(9.8) 25 cos 30) 16 cos180
W -34.08 J

What if the FORCE IS NOT

CONSTANT?
The function here MUST be a FORCE
function with respect to x or r. Lets look
at a POPULAR force function.

FNet ma
Is this function, with respect to x ?

NO!

You can still integrate the function, it simply needs to be modified so that it fits
the model accordingly.

W F dx (ma)dx
dv
W m (a ) dx m ( )dx
dt

W m (
v

dx
) dv m v dv
dt

W m v dv
vo

Work-Energy Theorem
K Kinetic Energy 1 mv 2
2
W K

dx
W m ( ) dv m v dv
dt
v

W m v dv
vo

2
o

v v
v v
W m( | |vo ) m( )
2
2 2
mv 2 mvo2
W

2
2

Kinetic energy is the ENERGY of MOTION.

Example

W=Frcos

A 70 kg base-runner begins to slide into second base when moving

at a speed of 4.0 m/s. The coefficient of kinetic friction between
his clothes and the earth is 0.70. He slides so that his speed is
zero just as he reaches the base (a) How much energy is lost
due to friction acting on the runner? (b) How far does he slide?
a ) W f K

F f Fn mg

W f 0 1 mvo2 1 (70)(4) 2
2
2
W f -560 J

(0.70)(70)(9.8)
= 480.2 N

W f F f r cos
560 (480.2)r (cos180)
x 1.17 m

Another varying force

example..
A ball hangs from a rope attached
to a ceiling as shown. A variable
force F is applied to the ball so
that:
F is always horizontal
Fs magnitude varies so that the ball
moves up the arc at a constant
speed.
The balls velocity is very low
Assuming the balls mass is m, how much work does F do as it moves from
= 0 to = 1?

Example Cont
T

Tcos

T cos mg T sin F
mg
F (
) sin mg tan
cos
W F dr (mg tan )dr

Tsin

tan
mg

dy dy
or
dx dr

Example Cont
dy
W mg tan dr mg ( )dr
dr
y

W mg dy mg dy

U Potential Energy mgy mgh

W U

yo

W mg | y | yyo mg ( y yo )
W mgy mgyo

The energy of POSITION or

STORED ENERGY is called
Potential Energy!

Something is missing.
Consider a mass m that moves from position 1 ( y1)
to position 2 m,(y2), moving with a constant velocity.
How much work does gravity do on the body as it

executes the motion?

Wgravity F r Fr cos

Wgravity mg ( y2 y1 ) cos 0
Wgravity mgy
Suppose the mass was thrown UPWARD.
How much work does gravity do on the
body as it executes the motion?

Wgravity

Wgravity U

F r Fr cos

Wgravity mg ( y1 y2 ) cos 180

Wgravity mgy
Wgravity U

In both cases, the negative

sign is supplied

The bottom line..

The amount of Work gravity does on a body is
PATH INDEPENDANT. Force fields that act
this way are CONSERVATIVE FORCES
FIELDS. If the above is true, the amount of
work done on a body that moves around a
CLOSED PATH in the field will always be
ZERO
FRICTION is a non conservative force. By NON-CONSERVATIVE
we mean it DEPENDS on the PATH. If a body slides up, and then
back down an incline the total work done by friction is NOT ZERO.
When the direction of motion reverses, so does the force and
friction will do NEGATIVE WORK in BOTH directions.

Force can be found using the

DERIVATIVE
W Fx U
dU
F
dx

Since work is equal to the NEGATIVE

change in potential energy, the
FORCE of an object is the derivative
of the potential energy with respect to
displacement. Be very careful
handling the negative sign.

Energy is CONSERVED!
W K U
K K o (U U o )
K K o U U o
Ko U o K U
Energy before Energy after

Example
A 2.0 m pendulum is released from rest when the support
string is at an angle of 25 degrees with the vertical.
What is the speed of the bob at the bottom of the
string?

Lcos
L
h

EB =

EA

UO
= K
mgho
= 1/2mv2
gho
= 1/2v2
1.83
= v2
1.35 m/s = v

h = L Lcos
h = 2-2cos
h = 0.187 m

How to we measure energy?

One of the things we do everyday is measure how
much energy we use. The rate at which we use it
determines the amount we pay to our utility
company. Since WORK is energy the rate at which
work is done is referred to as POWER.
The unit is either Joules per second or
commonly called the WATT.
To the left are several various versions of
this formula, including some various
Calculus variations.